Fully aware of their stated function, missions and strategic position in stationed areas, 2^nd Military Region’s armed forces (hereafter MRAF) have played a leading role in properly implementing defence and military missions in unison with local party executive committees and governments, and northwestern ethnic minorities, thereby actively contributing to the cause of building and defending the Homeland.

Maj. Gen. Phung Si Tan addresses a working session with Hoang Su Phi district’s party executive party, authority and armed forces (photo: baohagiang.vn)

Being home to ethnic minority communities, 2^nd Military Region is made up of 9 provinces in the northwestern mountainous and boundary area, and located in a significant strategic position to the cause of building and defending the Homeland in defence, security and diplomatic terms. Over the past years, following the Party’s renewal policy,  localities’ economy in the Military Region’s stationed areas has seen rather comprehensive development. Yet, socioeconomic situation still experiences some difficulties as evidenced by sluggishly changed economic structure and a high rate of poor households. In addition to latent instability in political and security situation, natural disasters are a regular occurrence in the Military Region’s stationed areas which are considered as the focal point for hostile forces’ sabotage activities as exemplified by infiltration and undercover activities to provoke divisions within national great unity block; an artifice to form “H’mong autonomous state; illegal religious practices, free migration and other crimes and social vices, etc. Those pose challenges and impose high demands for MRAF to carry out defence and military missions. Thoroughly grasping the Party line and viewpoints on defence and military policy as well as higher echelons’ resolutions and directions, especially Resolution of the 8^th Plenum of the Party Central Committee (11^th tenure) on “Strategy for defending the Homeland in the new situation”, MRAF have properly performed their advisory and directive role in executing military and defence tasks. Accordingly, grounded in proactive and accurate situational analysis and predictions, MRAF have opportunely advised the Central Military Commission and Ministry of National Defence on defence and military strategies while playing their core role in working with other forces to counsel the local party executive committees and governments in their stationed areas to adequately perform defence work with a focus on building strong national defence and all-people defence posture in alignment with people’s security posture and provincial and municipal defensive areas. Thanks to MRAF’s counselling, localities have effectively formulated and executed various resolutions, directions, plans, and projects concerning defence and military work; leadership effectiveness of local party executive committees and defence-related state management of local governments have tremendously improved; combination of socioeconomic development and defence, military and diplomatic promotion has been increasingly closer; and defensive area potential and posture, especially “people’s hearts and minds” posture have been reinforced. In the face of overwhelming odds, the Military Region and local governments have invested hundreds of billions of VND in building key combat and defensive  constructions, thereby gradually creating stronger defence posture in key and border areas. Fulfilling their stated responsibility, MRAF have tightly managed defence land, properly implemented economic-defence zone projects in key stationed areas, actively cleared mines and bombs, and obstacles for border demarcation and marking, etc., while making joint effort in counselling the localities to work out socioeconomic development strategies, planning, and projects ensuring the harmony of socioeconomic development and defence, military and diplomatic enhancement. MRAF, particularly the local military agencies have well performed their role as a standing body of all-level steering boards and councils (steering board of building people’s air defence and defensive area; councils of military service and defence-security education), and assisted them in maintaining their operation and expediting implementation process at grassroots level. Pursuant to their duties and responsibility, MRAF have proactively directed comprehensive building of defensive area posture; properly executed Law on defence-security education, and effectively translated the cultivation of defence-security knowledge into practice, thereby generating profound transformation in awareness and  greater sense of responsibility amongst the whole people, especially key cadres in political system, pupils, students, ethnic minority countrymen, and people in border areas towards the task of Homeland protection.

The role of MRAF is also highlighted as a fighting, working and producing force. MRAF have regularly heightened their vigilance, promoted the work of training, stringently maintained routine activities and combat readiness, and proactively formulated and perfected defensive combat plans as well as natural disaster relief schedules whilst closely cooperating relevant forces such as Public security force and border guard force, etc in further grasping situations in boundary and key areas as a basis for recommending, formulating, and implementing  countermeasures against possible contingencies such as subversive and riot activities, terrorism etc, thereby properly and opportunely handling defence-security-related incidents, foiling sabotage activities by hostile forces, productively combatting various crimes, contributing to firmly protected territorial sovereignty, political security and social order, and creating favourable conditions for socioeconomic and cultural development in stationed areas. Against the backdrop of diffuse stationed areas and the public unequal awareness level, MRAF have proactively counselled and collaborated with local party executive committees and governments in imparting Defence Law, Law on self-defence and militia forces, Law on military service, and Ordinance on the reserve force. Given concerted efforts by localities and all-level military agencies, the quality of the reserve force in the Military Region’s stationed areas has increasingly improved with 97 percent of its total strength served in MRAF’s units and 76 percent served as non-commissioned officers respectively. The reserve force with appropriate structure is built along with the motto “strong and widespread” in line with particularities of every stationed area. The number of party members accounts for 24,7% of its total strength.  The Military Region has given sufficient titles to all commune-level military commands; formed 351 commune-ward-township-level military party cells; established and maintained the operation of the active militia force in some of key border communes. Thanks to their efficient operation, the local self-defence and militia forces truly play the core role in carrying out defence and military work at grassroots level, thereby actively contributing to management and protection of border sovereignty, and firmly maintaining political security and social order and safety in stationed areas.

In their capacity as “a working force”, in the face of overwhelming odds, MRAF have spared no effort to propagate and mobilize the masses; participate in building political system; get involved in relief efforts, and assist the masses in eradicating hunger and alleviating poverty associated with consolidated defence and security in key stationed, remote, isolated, and border areas with complex religious and ethnical issues. Thanks to synchronous solutions, MRAF have well implemented the building of political system at grassroots level; mobilized the masses not to migrate freely and get involved in illegal religious practices through laying bare artifices and stratagems by hostile forces, thereby reinforcing people’s trust in the Party and the State whilst effectively executing movements, namely “Gratitude-repaying”; “making joint effort to build new-type rural areas”; “assisting the masses in hunger eradication and poverty alleviation”, etc. In particular,  MRAF have been the tower of strength for local governments and people through their core role in providing natural disaster relief and search and rescue. Recently, MRAF mobilized over 16.000 cadres and soldiers and more than 200 other assorted vehicles to get engaged in relief efforts and afforded affected locals billions of VND to repair damage and swiftly help bring their lives back to normal in flood-stricken northwestern areas. Those practical activities highly lauded by local party committees and governments and people brilliantly burnish noble nature, tradition and  image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” and contribute to the building of “people’s hearts and minds” posture and great national unity block as well as strong all-people defence and people’s security postures. Besides, MRAF also stick to the Party and State’s line and viewpoints on defence diplomacy, practically consolidate cooperation, friendship and solidarity relations with Laotian and Chinese border-sharing provinces and military units in a bid to build peaceful, friendly, stable and developmental border areas.

Presently, defence and military tasks of protecting the Homeland make high demands on the entire Army in general and MRAF in particular. In order to continuously promote their core role in implementing defence and military missions and contributing to the cause of building and defending the Homeland in the new situation, first of all, the Military Region concentrates on constructing strong three-category armed forces, deserving to be a force of politics, reliable and loyal fighting for local party committees and governments, and people. In the time to come, the Military Region will continuously make a breakthrough in its organization, training, regularity and discipline observance under the motto “elite, compact, strong, symmetric, mobile” with a focus on building revolutionary, regular, elite, gradually modernized active force; the “massive” reserve force; and the “strong and widespread” self-defence and militia force in line with characteristics of stationed areas. Great importance is attached to properly executing the work of political and ideological education and internal political protection, resolutely precluding manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” within MRAF while strengthening the quality of combat training, ensuring MRAF’s overall quality and high combat strength, willingly accomplishing every mission in any circumstances. In addition, the Military Region proceeds to cooperate with localities and other relevant forces in promoting the work of situational analysis and predictions, especially sensitive issues on the task of defending the Homeland whilst strictly maintaining combat readiness at all levels, proactively and opportunely dealing with contingencies in conformity with every force’s function and avoiding falling into passivity strategically. MRAF focus on renovating and promoting their advisory role and capacity on defence and military work for local party committees and governments while continuously counselling localities to foster  defence-related state management, closely combine socioeconomic development with defence-security and diplomatic enhancement, and strengthen the construction of defensive area according to stated plans in key and border areas. Simultaneously, MRAF also proceed to boost the work of special propaganda and mass mobilization, participate in building political organizations, and assist people in eradicating hunger and alleviating poverty and relief efforts, etc., thereby consolidating stronger civil-military relations and generating momentum and synergy for MRAF and northwestern party committees, governments and ethnic minority communities to successfully implement two strategic tasks of building and firmly defending the Homeland of socialist Vietnam in the new stage.

Major General Phung Si Tan, Commander of the 2^nd Military Region